The Role of Achieving Justice in the Realm of Spirituality with an Emphasis on Critiquing Critiquing the Theory of Justice as Fairness

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Ph.D., Department of Islamic Philosophy, Baqir al-Olum University, Qom, Iran

Abstract

This research aims to examine the position of achieving justice in the realm of spirituality, emphasizing critiquing the theory of justice as fairness. The research method is descriptive-analytical, and the results indicate that the central criticism of justice theories, especially the theory of justice as fairness, is the exclusive focus on the desirable distribution of resources and opportunities. On the one hand, overlooking the spiritual aspects of human beings as the core components of society has led these theories to fall short of encompassing all aspects of individual and societal spirituality and materiality. From an ontological perspective, humans are both material and spiritual, with material needs and desires. The idea of distributive justice in this aspect can fulfill material desires. Equality and freedom, in the sense of having equal opportunities and securing fundamental freedoms, can serve as providers of material justice in this dimension. On the other hand, considering the religious approach to justice and through the lens of Islamic sciences, especially what Muslim philosophers have presented regarding the ontological understanding of humans, humans are essentially immaterial and non-material beings, and all their perceptions and activities stem from a non-material and immaterial essence. In this perspective, the human being is a unified whole and a set, and a dialectical interplay between the two dimensions of existence, namely the material and spiritual, continually occurs within. This internal dialogue ultimately leads to just or unjust choices. The peril of unjust choices always puts the states of justice achieved through considerable effort at risk of collapse. Therefore, to realize a just society, individuals in that society need to incline toward justice and fairness in their internal dialogue.

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References

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